BY KEITH EPPS
A local insurance agent was ordered yesterday to serve 10 days in jail for improperly touching one of his employees.
Mark Dana Smith II, 36, was convicted of assault and battery in King George General District Court. Judge Frank Benser sentenced Smith to 180 days in jail with all but 10 suspended and fined him $1,000.
Defense attorney Mark Gardner immediately appealed the decision, meaning that Smith will not have to serve time unless the conviction is upheld in circuit court.
It was the second time Smith has been convicted of assault for improperly touching a woman in his office.
He got a suspended 10-day jail sentence in Stafford in 2006; the victim in that case testified during the sentencing yesterday.
According to the evidence presented by prosecutor Keri Gusmann, the 18-year-old woman worked at Smith's Nationwide Insurance office off State Route 3 in King George for three weeks.
She said that after she requested his help on Aug. 6, Smith ran his fingers through her hair, cupped her breast and looked down her shirt before asking, "Is this OK?"
The woman said she told him it was not OK, and the King George Sheriff's Office was contacted within a half- hour.
The Nationwide office has since been closed. Smith is in danger of losing his license if the conviction stands.
Smith testified that the events described by the woman never happened. He said Aug. 6 was simply a normal day, and he has no idea why the woman made such claims.
David Payne, another insurance agent who was in the office that day, testified that he didn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary.
The Rev. Fred Donahoe, a Lutheran pastor, and others testified that Smith's reputation is good. He is a former lacrosse coach at Colonial Forge High School.
Gardner asked the judge to dismiss the case. He said there was nothing to corroborate the woman's claims.
Gusmann said the woman had nothing to gain by lying. She said her immediate reporting of the incident was evidence of her truthfulness.
Benser said he found the woman to be credible and convicted Smith of assault and battery. He said the evidence did not support sexual battery, the original charge.
Prior to the judge pronouncing sentence, Gusmann put on a woman who said she was molested by Smith in his Stafford office several years ago.
The woman, now 30, said she briefly dated Smith when she was 17. But she said she went to his office in 2006 simply to purchase insurance.
Toward the end of the process, she said, Smith stated, "It's time for your physical exam."
She said Smith, who is married, pulled her skirt down as she walked away, then grabbed her breasts and kissed her on the neck.
She said she "couldn't understand why he thought that was OK," and she contacted the Stafford Sheriff's Office.
Smith was initially charged with abduction, but was convicted only of the misdemeanor assault and battery charge.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com